Head to Head Analysis: McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) vs. Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN)

Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) and McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Hudson Technologies has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, McGrath RentCorp has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.3% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.0% of McGrath RentCorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of McGrath RentCorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Hudson Technologies and McGrath RentCorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hudson Technologies	3.51%	4.95%	3.81%
McGrath RentCorp	16.38%	12.44%	6.38%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hudson Technologies and McGrath RentCorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hudson Technologies	$246.61 million	0.88	$16.67 million	$0.20	25.85
McGrath RentCorp	$944.23 million	2.87	$156.31 million	$6.21	17.86

McGrath RentCorp has higher revenue and earnings than Hudson Technologies. McGrath RentCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hudson Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hudson Technologies and McGrath RentCorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hudson Technologies	1	3	2	0	2.17
McGrath RentCorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Hudson Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $8.62, suggesting a potential upside of 66.83%. McGrath RentCorp has a consensus target price of $140.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.25%. Given Hudson Technologies’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Hudson Technologies is more favorable than McGrath RentCorp.

Summary

McGrath RentCorp beats Hudson Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hudson Technologies

Hudson Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Hudson Technologies Company, engages in the provision of solutions to recurring problems within the refrigeration industry in the United States. The company engages in the sale of refrigerant and industrial gas; provision of refrigerant management services consisting primarily of reclamation of refrigerants, re-usable cylinder refurbishment, and hydrostatic testing services; and RefrigerantSide services comprising system decontamination and recovery to remove moisture, oils, and other contaminants. It also offers Chiller Chemistry, which integrates several fluid tests of an operating system and the corresponding laboratory results into an engineering report; Fluid Chemistry, an abbreviated version of Chiller Chemistry, which is designed to quickly identify systems that require further examination; SmartEnergy OPS, a web-based real time continuous monitoring system, for measuring, modifying and improving the efficiency of energy systems, including air conditioning and refrigeration systems, in industrial and commercial applications; and ChillSmart, which combines the system optimization with Chiller Chemistry for providing a snapshot of a packaged chiller's operating efficiency and health. In addition, the company participates in the generation of carbon offset projects. It serves commercial, industrial, and governmental customers, as well as refrigerant wholesalers, distributors, contractors, and refrigeration equipment manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About McGrath RentCorp

McGrath RentCorp operates as a business to business rental company in the United States and internationally. It rents and sells relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, and electronic test equipment. The company operates through four segments: Mobile Modular, Portable Storage, TRS-RenTelco, and Enviroplex. The Mobile Modular segment rents and sells modular buildings designed for use as classrooms, temporary offices adjacent to existing facilities, sales offices, construction field offices, restroom buildings, health care clinics, child care facilities, office spaces, and various other purposes. The TRS-RenTelco segment rents and sells general purpose electronic test equipment, such as oscilloscopes, amplifiers, analyzers, signal source, and power source test equipment primarily to aerospace, defense, electronics, industrial, research, and semiconductor industries. It also provides communications test equipment, including network and transmission test equipment for various fiber, copper, and wireless networks to the manufacturers of communications equipment and products, electrical and communications installation contractors, field technicians, and service providers. The Portable Storage segment offers steel containers to provide a temporary storage solution. The Enviroplex segment manufactures and sells portable classrooms directly to public school districts and other educational institutions in California. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Livermore, California.